Dispelling the myths with cold, hard facts

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Remember how your mother always said, "Don't go outside without your coat on or you'll catch a cold?" Well, according to researchers, you might freeze to death, but you're not more likely to catch a cold.

Colds, says Dr. Bennett Lorber of Temple University Hospital, are infections caused by viruses, not cold weather or dampness.

The coat myth is just one of many bits of misinformation surrounding the common cold.

Think you're more likely to get a cold in the winter? Think again. Colds are actually more common in the fall and spring, according to Lorber. It's flu cases that jump in the winter. But while flu shots work, there is no effective vaccine against the viruses that cause most colds because they come in too many varieties.

Prevention is still the best medicine when it comes to the common cold. Cold scientists in Toronto recently announced encouraging findings for a nose spray designed to ward off cold viruses and lessen the severity of cold symptoms.

Pop quiz: A person is more likely to catch a cold from a) holding hands b)kissing or c) being near someone who sneezes?

Colds are most commonly spread by hand-to-hand contact. (Answer: b). Cold viruses rarely jump through the air, and there's not much virus in saliva -- even lingering kisses rarely spread colds.

The experts advise: Don't shake hands with someone who has a cold, and wash your hands often to keep from spreading or catching the viruses.

As for treatments, researchers say vitamin C fails scientific tests, and over-the-counter cold remedies merely mask symptoms. If you have a cold, go ahead and indulge in Grandma's chicken soup but leave that pretty embroidered handkerchief she gave you at home. It's a perfect spot for collecting and concentrating viruses, the cold scientists say. Disposable tissues are safer -- as long as you don't reuse them.

But someday, medicines that block the viral attack -- or alter our immune response -- may truly help bring sneezers and snifflers in from the cold.

CNN Correspondents Andrew Holtz and Rhonda Rowland contributed to this report.